The present invention relates to a method for producing semiconductor elements.
Methods for producing semiconductor elements or chips comprise a series of individual steps. Firstly, in general a semiconductor material region, also referred to as semiconductor wafer, is formed or provided. Said semiconductor material region or semiconductor wafer has a top side region and also a rear side region. One or more regions in which or on which integrated semiconductor circuit arrangements are formed are defined on the semiconductor material region or semiconductor wafer. After the completion of the integrated semiconductor circuit arrangements in the defined regions of the semiconductor material region or the semiconductor wafer, the respective defined regions of the semiconductor material region or semiconductor wafer with the integrated semiconductor circuit arrangement respectively provided and formed there are separated or singulated. These separated defined regions with the respective integrated semiconductor circuit arrangements formed are then referred to as semiconductor elements or as chips and provided as such. The separation or singulation of the chips or semiconductor elements takes place in the assemblage in the semiconductor material region or semiconductor wafer along separating zones which are provided, located or formed in edge regions of the respective defined regions for the integrated semiconductor circuit arrangements.
What is problematic in the case of conventional methods for producing semiconductor elements is that disturbances, defects or crystal imperfections arise in the underlying semiconductor material region of the integrated semiconductor circuit arrangement, the semiconductor element or the chip as a result of the operation of separating or singulating the semiconductor elements or chips in the region of the separating zones. Although these defects are situated in the edge region of the chip, it is not always possible to avoid interactions with the electrically active region, in particular with specific space charge zones of the semiconductor components forming the integrated semiconductor circuit arrangement. On account of such interactions, it can happen, for example, that specific structural parameters or functional parameters of the chip are altered. Over the operational life of the chip this possibly leads to instabilities or else to failure. By way of example, the occurrence of a rise in the reverse current or in the leakage current of specific components may also be induced on account of the interactions mentioned above.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to specify a method for producing a semiconductor element in the case of which disturbances, defects or crystal imperfections or the influence thereof on structure and functional parameters in the case of the semiconductor element, during or after the separation or singulation, can be reduced or prevented in a particularly simple yet reliable manner.